Reston’s long-running Founder’s Day event is back with a new name: Celebrate Reston. It will be held on Saturday, April 5, from 11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lake Anne Plaza.
This 21st annual community event hosted by the Reston Museum and the Reston Community Center honors Reston’s founder, Robert E. Simon.
The Reston Museum committee renamed the event “to better reflect the event’s celebratory spirit and attract more people to the plaza while still honoring long-standing traditions that recognize Robert E. Simon and his enduring legacy,” says Lisa Watts, executive director of the Reston Museum.
Celebrate Reston will feature family-friendly activities, live entertainment, local vendors, a book fair, and a cake-cutting ceremony celebrating Simon’s birthday. (Simon died in 2015 at age 101.)
Several authors from around the region will be in attendance, with Emmy-winning poet Kwame Alexander as the keynote speaker. Other notable speakers will include Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn, State Sen. Jennifer Boysko, and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay.
Other vendors include local merchants, civic organizations, and an activity van on the plaza courtesy of Reston Community Center.
All attendees have the chance to get one free professional picture with Bronze Bob, an iconic statue of the community’s founder that sits on a bench by Lake Anne, to commemorate the day, courtesy of Denise Van Photography.
Feature image courtesy Reston Museum
